Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL)

PEARL has three sites: The PEARL Ridge Laboratory 15km from the Eureka weather station at 610m elevation, the 0PAL laboratory next to the weather station and the SAFIRE site which is far from structures for undisturbed measurements. PEARL makes many atmospheric measurements year-round as well as hosting special campaigns. PEARL is a facility of the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC) which is an open consortium of university and government scientists.

PEARL has the most northerly set of geostationary communication antennas on the planet. Photo credit: Jim Drummond

Owner
The PEARL Ridge Laboratory building is owned and maintained by Environment Canada and the 0PAL and SAFIRE buildings owned and maintained by the University of Toronto. Research equipment in the buildings is owned by various university and government organizations.

Research History
Research at the PEARL Ridge Laboratory site began in about 1993 as the Eureka Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Laboratory with observations of ozone and related chemicals in the atmosphere. PEARL was founded in 2005 with a broader mandate encompassing climate, pollution and ozone. The installation of a permanent internet connection has permitted development of remote operation of experiments. Research at the site has broadened to other areas including seismology, geology and astronomy.

Current Projects
The major current project is the ‘Probing the Atmosphere of the High Arctic’ (PAHA) project that seeks to understand the polar atmosphere with a particular emphasis on the Polar night.

Power
Generator, External Electrical Grid

Communications
Telephone, Internet, Computer, Printer/scanner

Local Transportation
By either PEARL or Environment Canada vehicles by prior arrangement

Equipment Storage
With either PEARL or Environment Canada by prior arrangement